The United Nations International Day of Tolerance will take place on Sunday, 16 November.

The European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA), of which the British Psychological Society is a member, has taken this oportunity to demonstrate its support of governments and NGOs in their activities and to encourage policy makers to consider more use of psychological knowledge and psychologists’ expertise towards the goal of promoting tolerance.

EFPA believes psychologists are able to address the underlying causes of social problems and intolerance in communities and can nourish and observe the values and attitudes that stimulate tolerant behaviour in society. Below are some examples of psychologists utlising their skills and experience towards this aim:

Interventions that target social change
In the Principles on Tolerance agreed by UNESCO in 1995, it is highlighted that in a time of increasing globalization, mobility, communications, migration and changing social patterns, tolerance is critically important. Psychologists can contribute to the promoting of tolerance by providing interventions that target social change by empowering disadvantaged and marginalized groups of people, such as children and youth living in poverty, refugee families, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, women experiencing violence or the elderly with isolated lives. For example, Afghan women who had experienced threats and violence were engaged in local political work for human rights. They experienced reduced traumatic stress after participating in a community based project. 

Promote diversity, participation and social inclusion
People disempowered because of income, gender, war or immigration are vulnerable to experiences of intolerance from the communities they live in, including the health and welfare systems that are designed to help. Psychologists are trained to negotiate and intervene in those power structures and situations where there is growing intolerance and ill health. This way, psychologists can work on a community level to promote diversity, participation and social inclusion as means to achieve wellbeing. As an example, see the Casas Primiero initiative in Lisbon. 

Engage young people
Psychologists are also working with Human Rights Organizations to develop education models aimed at engaging young people in working for tolerance. By offering education programs for psychologists and other health personnel that include research methods and interventions to reduce intolerance, psychology can make a difference.

Facilitate cultural assimilation in communities
Social justice and liberation are core values of Community Psychology, where there is growing interest to look for new perspectives in dealing with increased intolerance arising from the economic crisis, with a taskforce working under the auspices of the European Community Psychology Association. Psychology can facilitate cultural assimilation in communities by providing research-based interventions proven effective in integrating new citizens.

By working together with other disciplines, understanding the relation between individual and context using concepts such as ‘sense of community’, psychologists are practicing in line with the World Health Organisation in targeting the Health 2020 policy framework and strategy “… to reduce health inequalities, strengthen public health, and ensure people-centered health systems that are universal, equitable, sustainable and of high quality”.

EFPA is the leading Federation of National Psychology Associations. It provides a forum for European cooperation in a wide range of fields of academic training, psychology practice and research.

There are 36 member associations of EFPA representing about 300,000 psychologists.

Do you have a view on this news story? Then sign in to our website to submit a comment (comments are moderated).

Anyone can join the BPS, from just £10 a year. Our members and subscribers enjoy a range of benefits, including electronic access to the Society's monthly magazine The Psychologist.

You can find full details of the different member and subscriber packages, including details of how to apply, on this website.

The Society publishes news stories to provide informed comment on the latest psychology research and to give a psychological angle on the day’s news. For more in-depth coverage of research, see our award-winningResearch Digest blog.